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ISRAELI TORTURE CONNECTION: WHO IS JOHN ISRAEL?



 
 
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Old May 12th 04, 09:16 PM
MORRIS434
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Default ISRAELI TORTURE CONNECTION: WHO IS JOHN ISRAEL?

http://www.antiwar.com/justin

Who is John Israel?
He could be one of the secret masterminds behind the Abu Ghraib outrage


The blithering, the blathering, the pontification, and the grandstanding –
that about describes the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on the Abu
Ghraib filth-fest. The Democrats were so hot to link Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld directly to the scandal, and the Republicans were so busy
defending their man (and the war) that neither bothered much to mention the key
culprits, as identified in the Taguba report:
"I find that there is sufficient credible information to warrant an Inquiry UP
Procedure 15, AR 381-10, U.S. Army Intelligence Activities, be conducted to
determine the extent of culpability of M[ilitary] I[intelligence] personnel,
assigned to the 205th MI Brigade and the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing
Center (JIDC) at Abu Ghraib (BCCF). Specifically, I suspect that COL Thomas M.
Pappas, LTC Steve L. Jordan, Mr. Steven Stephanowicz [sic], and Mr. John Israel
were either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib
(BCCF) and strongly recommend immediate disciplinary action as described in the
preceding paragraphs as well as the initiation of a Procedure 15 Inquiry to
determine the full extent of their culpability."
Even when General Taguba went up to Capitol Hill and testified, along with the
shifty-eyed undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Stephen A. Cambone, the
senators spent so much time listening to the sound of their own voices, and
scoring brownie points off one another, that the subject of the "private"
contractors and the intelligence community's involvement in all this only came
up briefly, like lightning illuminating a cloud-clogged sky.
It came up at the start of the hearing, but Senator John Warner, who even looks
like a hawk – the beakish nose, the hooded eyes, the predatory glint in his
eye – approached the subject gingerly:
SEN. WARNER: "I ask the same question to you. In simple laymen's language, so
it can be understood, what do you think went wrong, in terms of the failure of
discipline and the failure of this interrogation process to be consistent with
known regulations, national and international? And also, to what extent do you
have knowledge of any participation by other than U.S. military, namely Central
Intelligence Agency and/or contractors, in the performance of the
interrogations?"
GEN. TAGUBA: "Sir, as far as your last question, I'll answer that first. The
comments about participation of other government agencies or contractors were
related to us through interviews that we conducted. It was related to our
examination of written statements and, of course, some other records. With
regards to your first question, sir, there was a failure of leadership..."
The media has focused on this last phrase, probably because it not only seems
to indict Rumsfeld but also because it's a made-to-order headline. But the
first part of Taguba's answer is the most pertinent. Warner, obviously not
eager to have the general go into detail in public, then answered his own
question, referring to the over 1,000 pages of documentation submitted to the
committee. In short, the answer to the senator's question was clearly yes, and
the details were to be found in the classified documents that only members of
the committee and other privileged characters would read.
So they blithered, and they blathered, and struck poses, and not until it came
Senator Daniel K. Akaka's turn was any further light shed on the dark corners
of this investigation. The Hawaii Democrat looked affable enough, and he was
smiling, but his questions, when they came, cut straight to the heart of the
matter:
SENATOR AKAKA: "General Taguba, in your report you reference the lack of
supervision over U.S. civilian contractor personnel, third country nationals
and local contractors within the detention facility at Abu Ghraib. During your
investigation, did you determine how many civilian contract personnel were
working there? Who supervised these individuals? And can you describe what you
observed in terms of type of access these individuals had to the detainee
areas?"
GEN. TAGUBA: "Sir, we did not make a determination of how many civilian
contractors were assigned to the 205th MI Brigade and operating at Abu Ghraib.
I personally interviewed a translator and I also personally interviewed an
interrogator, both civilians, contractors. There was also a statement, and
substantiated by the witnesses that we interviewed, of another translator, a
third-country national in fact, that was involved. And there was another third-
country national who was acting as a translator for the interrogators that was
involved in one of the interrogation incidents where dogs were used. Their
supervision, sir, from the best that we could determine or discern from the
information that we gathered, was they were under the supervision of the Joint
Interrogation and Debriefing Center, the JIDC, who is then under the
supervision of one, a lieutenant colonel, who was also supervised by the
brigade commander, the MI brigade commander. That was the chain, sir."
Third country nationals, eh? So what third country are we talking about?
Britain? Canada, perhaps? I guess we can probably rule out Monaco.
The only translator identified in the Taguba report is John Israel, supposedly
a "contract translator" employed by the Titan Corp. Mr. Israel is furthermore
described as not having a security clearance, an unusual condition for someone
in his position – unless, of course, he's not an American, in which case it
would be perfectly understandable.
So far, very interesting. But then it got even more interesting:
SEN. AKAKA: "General Taguba, your report finds that two contractors were either
directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib. Were either of
these contracted personnel supervising soldiers or in a position to direct
soldiers to take specific actions?"
GEN. TAGUBA: "Sir, they were not in any way supervising any soldiers, MP or
otherwise. However, the guards, those who were involved, looked at them as
competent authority as in the manner by which they described them, as the MI or
by name or by function."
A reasonable interpretation of Taguba's somewhat garbled answer is that, yes,
the MPs and soldiers who committed sadistic outrages against detainees acted
under the influence and at the instigation of those they believed to be
intelligence officers, some of whom were "third country nationals."
Senator Akaka follows up with a question for Secretary Cambone: "What kind of
training," he wanted to know, "did the U.S. civilian contractors have prior to
going to Iraq?"
The look on Cambone's face made the whole dreary procedure worth it, I thought
his eyebrows were going to fly right off.
It is no secret that the Israelis have been "advising" the Americans on how to
run the occupation: after all, they have so much experience in the matter, and
are more than eager to impart their hard-won expertise. The methods employed by
Israeli security forces are quite different from those utilized by the U.S.
military: the use of "limited" torture is okay by them, and the Palestinians
are no strangers to the sort of treatment meted out to the inmates at Abu
Ghraib. So when Senator Akaka asked Cambone what kind of training the
contractors had received, my first thought was: The very best!
The Mossad is rightly feared throughout the Middle East, and the world, as the
most ruthless (and daring) intelligence agency of them all. Only the KGB ever
rivaled its reputation. That they would not hesitate to employ the sort of
interrogation methods used to "soften up" the prisoners of Abu Ghraib is beyond
dispute: just ask the Palestinians – and Human Rights Watch. That we have
imported them, along with their methods, into Iraq seems altogether likely.
But, hey, wait a minute, how is it that American soldiers were taking orders
from civilian contractors, never mind "third country nationals"? Senator
Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) cleared that up when he put the question to
Taguba pointblank:
SEN. GRAHAM: "Part of the defense that we're going to be hearing about in these
court martials is that the people that we're charging are going to say this
system that we see photographic evidence of, was at least encouraged if not
directed by others. Do you think that's an accurate statement?"
GEN. TAGUBA: "Sir, I would say that they were probably influenced by others
–"
SEN. GRAHAM: "Okay –"
GEN. TAGUBA: " – if not necessarily directed specifically by others."
As U.S. and, in all likelihood, Israeli intelligence officers looked on
approvingly, Trailer-Park Lynndie and her ex-prison guard boyfriend, with the
active collaboration of the other MPs, systematically abused and degraded the
inmates. So much of this nightmare scenario – the hooded prisoners forced to
engage in behavior looked on with utter horror in Muslim society – seems like
such a gift to Osama bin Laden that the revelation of Israeli involvement gives
the whole affair a surreal quality.
For the role of CIA overseer, I nominate Steven Stefanowicz, the 34-year-old
ex-Navy reservist, now a civilian interrogator supposedly employed by CACI
International, who emigrated to Australia, before 9/11, and worked in
"information technology" in the city of Adelaide, where – he says – he
became engaged to be married. As detailed in my last column, Stefanowicz
alleges he underwent a transformation after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and
returned to the U.S. determined to get in on the fight, though in what capacity
was never quite clear. Now it turns out he had bragged to his friends that he
had joined the CIA, according to a piece in the Philadelphia Daily News:
"The Philadelphia-area native at the center of the Iraq torture scandal has
reportedly told friends he wants to get out of there right away and return to
Australia, where he claimed three years ago he was joining the CIA. 'It's safe
to say I've seen enough for a lifetime here in Iraq, and it's definitely time
to come home,' Steve Stefanowicz reportedly said in an e-mail to a friend in
the southern Australian city of Adelaide. He apparently meant Adelaide and not
Telford, the Montgomery County, Pa., suburb where he was reared.
"Meanwhile, another Australian friend told the Daily News in an e-mail that in
fall 2001 'Steve announced to all of his friends that he was leaving Adelaide
to return to America to work for the Central Intelligence Agency.'"
Alas, the Australians don't seem all that eager to have him. Justice Minister
Chris Ellison said Stefanowicz "would not be welcome in Australia," according
to the Herald Sun newspaper:
"'We do not hold Australia out as a haven for anyone who has broken the law and
is trying to evade it,' Senator Ellison said. He said he was not aware of the
details of the case but Australia would be prepared to help the U.S. in any
investigation into Mr. Stefanowicz. 'We would receive any request for
assistance sympathetically,' he said."
Yeah, well if I were Senator Ellison I wouldn't hold my breath. This is one
refugee from the law that many in Washington would just as soon see the back
of. The same goes for the mysterious John Israel, about whom next to nothing is
known – except that, according to the London Telegraph,
"Mr. Israel has left Iraq while Mr. Stefanowicz is 'on leave' pending inquiries
that could lead to criminal charges being brought against them."
Mr. Israel has skipped town for parts unknown, and Stefanowicz is trying to get
to Australia, where he supposedly is going to marry a woman he describes as his
fiancée. Except that she isn't. This news story describes Joanna Buttfield as
an "former girlfriend" coming to Stefanowicz's defense. Another Australian
account also refers to their relationship in the past tense, and cites this
very interesting tidbit from Ms. Buttfield:
"Mr. Stefanowicz had refused to discuss details of his life as a U.S. Army
reservist, she said. 'We both made a conscious decision not to talk about it
because there was so much he couldn't talk about,' she said. 'It was the source
of some frustration. He'd say, 'I can't talk about that'."
For a CIA guy, however, he sure sounds like a bit of a loser, and not exactly
low-profile. His Australian friends are coming out of the woodwork, and talking
to the newspapers:
"'The events of 9/11 had nothing to do with his motivation to return to the
U.S. ,' South Philadelphia native Sam Krupsky, now an executive with the
Australian Rail Track Corp., wrote [to the Philadelphia Daily News]. "He was
out of work and out of luck, and left because he had no prospects here.'
"…Krupsky, the Australian rail-track worker who was born in Philadelphia and
who moved to Adelaide in the mid-1970s to play semi-pro basketball, cast doubt
on Stefanowicz's skills. 'Steve tried hard for a couple of months to find a job
here, but was always unsuccessful because he kept freaking out all of his
potential employers,' Krupsky wrote. He said Stefanowicz had boasted to friends
on his arrival in Australia that he'd turned down a job offer from the CIA."
After 9/11, did he take them up on their offer – and proceed to "freak out"
his new employers to a degree that not even the catty Krupsky could have
imagined?
If Stefanowicz is employed by the CIA, then he certainly didn't try to keep it
very secret. He was very visible, even prior to his notoriety, due to the
efforts of his mother who founded a chapter of the Blue Star Mothers in their
home town, and was featured on the DoD's "Defend America" website, invoking her
son as a kind of patriotic model. In the wake of the scandal, a number of
accounts have been published of his early history and the course of his career,
both here and in Australia. We know he graduated from Souderton Area High
School in 1988, and that, in 1998, he joined a Naval Reserve program. We also
know that, for whatever reason, after 9/11 he quit his job in Australia as an
"information technology recruiter" and went back to the U.S., where he
volunteered for active duty. The Washington Post reports that "he served in
Muscat, Oman, for most of 2002, and his rank is listed as intelligence
specialist 3rd class. Stefanowicz, who received a number of military awards,
including a medal for meritorious service, left his last post, at Willow Grove,
Pa., last September." Friends of the family say he became a civilian to take a
job with CACI. Of the key role Stefanowicz played in the torture chambers of
Abu Ghraib, the Taguba report is unequivocal. According to General Taguba,
Stefanowicz:
"Allowed and/or instructed MPs, who were not trained in interrogation
techniques, to facilitate interrogations by 'setting conditions' which were
neither authorized and in accordance with applicable regulations/policy. He
clearly knew his instructions equated to physical abuse."
However, the General gets a bit murky when it comes to detailing the specifics
against John Israel, who, in addition to not having a security clearance, is
found to have
"Denied ever having seen interrogation processes in violation of the IROE,
which is contrary to several witness statements."
And that is it.
While we know plenty about Stefanowicz, what's extremely odd is that nothing
comparable has come out about the other civilian contractor named by General
Taguba as having "direct or indirect" responsibility for the Abu Ghraib house
of horrors. We don't know how old "John Israel" is, where he lives, where he
was born, or what he looks like – nothing.
We don't even know where he is. All we know is that, according to the
Telegraph, he's flown the coop. Gee, I'll bet Army Specialist Jeremy Sivits,
who faces court martial, a stiff jail sentence, and worldwide calumny as the
"torturer of Abu Ghraib," wishes he could do the same.
If the Israelis are involved in this maelstrom of evil to some extent, then the
U.S. is taking the fall for them. Just as Sivits and the others are taking the
fall for the intelligence officers who directed the Abu Ghraib horror show –
and are so far getting away with reprimands, and relative anonymity.
– Justin Raimondo

NEOCON PENTAGON OFFICIAL CLASHES WITH GENERAL TAGUBA:

http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=15305

 




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